The National Football League draft starts Thursday in Green Bay, Wisconsin and the Taste of the Draft is one of the pre-draft events that helps feed children. GENYOUth is a nonprofit organization that works to equip schools and help provide students with better access to nutrition and physical activity. CEO Ann Marie Krautheim tells Brownfield…… read more
Category Archives: Ag News
Wisconsin’s certified seed potato bill clears state Senate, grazing bill on hold
The Chairman of the Wisconsin State Senate Agriculture Committee says legislation that would give the state’s certified seed potato law additional enforcement tools passed the Senate unanimously Tuesday and advanced to the Assembly. Patrick Testin tells Brownfield Senate Bill 164 would increase fines from $150 dollars to $5,000, plus an additional $5,000 for each acre…… read more
Farm bankruptcies on the rise
The director of the Renk Agribusiness Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison says farm bankruptcies are on the rise. During a recent Soils for Success webinar, Paul Mitchell says 2024 marked the first increase in defaults since 2019. “The first upswing in a long time.” He says, “We’re up 55% from ‘23. We’re still low…… read more
Cool, wet fields are slowing most Wisconsin farmers
Most Wisconsin farmers are waiting for better field conditions. In the week ending Sunday, there were just under four days suitable for fieldwork statewide. USDA officials say field activities were limited to spreading fertilizer and manure, some tillage, and a small amount of planting. Corn planting is 1% complete with most of that in the…… read more
Most fieldwork getting a slow start in Wisconsin
Tillage and some planting activity is picking up in parts of southern Wisconsin, but most of the state is too cool for anything but fertilizer applications. Zeb Zuehls raises beef and row crops near Montello in central Wisconsin. He tells Brownfield with no-till and cool soil temperatures, his planter is staying in the shed for…… read more
Wisconsin potato planting receives timely rain, replenishing soil moisture
Potato planting was briefly slowed by rainy weather in the central sands region of Wisconsin. Jeff Huber is the agronomy manager for Alsum Farms and Produce in central Wisconsin. He says they started planting potatoes at their Grand Marsh location a week ago Friday. “When we started off, the temperatures were a little bit cool…… read more
Direct beef marketer says know costs, keep accounting simple
Since COVID, more producers are learning how direct marketing of beef can help their farm’s bottom line. Grace Link from Bosben Road Beef Company near Deerfield, Wisconsin is a producer who started selling on the farm. She tells Brownfield it’s often hard for producers, especially when starting out. “We’re selling a very simple product, beef,…… read more
Ag group seeks improvements to Wisconsin’s Water Quality Trading Clearinghouse
An agricultural group would like to see more utilization of Wisconsin’s Water Quality Trading Clearinghouse. Chad Zuleger with the Dairy Business Association tells Brownfield the bipartisan program was created three sessions ago in 2020 but has not been able to deliver the expected results. “There are good people doing good work out there, but really,…… read more
Still too cool to plant for most of Wisconsin
Cool soil temperatures have Wisconsin farmers focused on manure and fertilizer applications and some spring tillage. Others, like Zeb Zuehls, who raises beef and no-till corn and soybeans near Montello in southcentral Wisconsin tells Brownfield he’s making a few repairs, and the planter is still in the shed. “I won’t plant for two weeks yet.”…… read more
After Easter planting expected in northern Corn Belt
Many farmers are waiting to plant in the northern Corn Belt. Heather Morris covers the Dakotas, Minnesota, and Wisconsin for Beck’s Hybrids and says conditions are cool. “We’re not seeing a ton right now, but I know in South Dakota there was some work going on. But a lot of talk about enjoying the Easter…… read more